I recently bought a KORG MS10, which I was looking for for a really long time! I can really recommend it to anyone looking for an analog synth..However, I encountered a small problem.. Since the synth is monophonic, I only hear the left channel when I plug my normal headphones into the "signal out" jack.. It obviously works normally when I plug it into an amp or a mixer..

Is there a way to "double" the signal in order to be able to listen to what I play with normal stereo headphones? I'd love to take the synth to some places where there is no mixer around just to jam a bit..

arminp wrote:Since the synth is monophonic, I only hear the left channel when I plug my normal headphones into the "signal out" jack...

No, since the synth is monophonic, you only can play one note at once. Since the synth has no headphone output, you only hear the left channel when you plug your normal headphones into the "signal out" jack...

No, since the synth is monophonic, you only can play one note at once. Since the synth has no headphone output, you only hear the left channel when you plug your normal headphones into the "signal out" jack...

Thanks for rectifying I went to a shop today to ask for that kind of cable or adapter, but they said it wouldn't be such a good idea as there is some problem with the headphones impedance.. They said it might destroy the synth from the inside or something, I didn't quite get what they meant..

You won't destroy anything. But the "signal out" socket is not for headphones, it's for the line input of a mixer or similar. If it was for headphones it would say "headphones". But you've discovered that by trial and error now, so it's all good.

fh991586 wrote:But still, what's the real problem with using an signal output if there is not headphone output?

Usually there is not enough power to drive the headphones, at least not at a useable level. By looking at the MS-10 service manual, if you are able to hear anything through your headphones, it's probably weak, or the headphones are amazingly sensitive.

Don Taylor

Master of no trades, practitioner of many. (Basically, this means I know just enough about a lot of things to get myself in real trouble)

When I test a synth before buying it, and there is no amp available, I check the signal output(s) with my cheap walkman headphones, and I can pick up the sound. It's not enough nor fun to play long like this, but it's still a possibility...

Just tell me there is no possible damage to the synth itself (why could there be anyway?), and the rest is irrelevant to me.

Looking at the MS-10 schematic, the output is single ended, capacitor coupled. There is no logical way you could hurt the synth by using a mono to stereo adaptor on your headphones. You will have a rather low level signal, and loose much of the bass response due to the mismatch, but no damage.

Most synths in the past 20 years have a stereo headphone jack (with built-in amps to boost the level)

The guys at the shop are idiots. You won't hurt the synth by using a mono to stereo adapter and plugging headphones into the line out. Though, it will sound pretty crappy without a headphone amp. I would recommend getting one of those cheap little battery powered headphone amps to boost the signal and give you the right output impedance. That should do the trick.